Could Nats add another starter following Soroka signing?

The Nationals’ long-awaited first free agent signing of the offseason didn’t qualify as a big splash. Michael Soroka isn’t the big slugger they need for the middle of their lineup. He’s not the closer they lack since non-tendering Kyle Finnegan. And he’s probably not the ace of the staff, even if he did pitch like one as a rookie for the Braves way back in 2019.

Soroka’s deal – one year, $9 million – is modest by 2025 standards. If anything, it might even be a bit of a stretch considering his lack of success and lack of good health, the last five seasons.

But that’s the price of doing business in the free agent pitching market. Nobody with any kind of track record comes cheap, and the best of the best are paid exorbitant amounts of dollars over a number of years that leaves general managers around the league shivering.

The Nats didn’t sign Soroka to lead their rotation. They signed him in the hopes he can rekindle some of his past success and health and perform at a level that makes his $9 million salary look like a bargain.

In short, they signed him hoping he can do in 2025 what Trevor Williams did in 2024.

Williams (the only free agent the Nationals have inked to more than a one-year deal since 2021) was a bust in his first season in D.C., but he rebounded in a big way this season. He finished 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 1.035 WHIP in 13 starts, the only downside the elbow strain that sidelined him from early-June through mid-September.

Williams did that while making $7 million, a modest salary for a quality veteran pitcher.

Why not bring him back for another go-around? In theory, it’s still possible, but the 32-year-old left town at season’s end acting as if he expected to sign elsewhere in 2025, hoping to parlay his success into a better contract and a guarantee of a full-time starting job.

So in many ways, Soroka now becomes Williams’ replacement. The Nationals will hope to get five solid innings out of him each time he takes the mound, probably not much more given his struggles this season with the White Sox when he approached the 75-pitch mark. If he regularly gives them a chance to win, he’ll have done his job and been worth $9 million. If he struggles, he could potentially be moved to the bullpen (provided the Nats have a better option to start at that point). If he gets hurt, then it ends up being a bad deal.

If Davey Martinez had to field an Opening Day rotation right now, he’d be looking at MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin at the top, Soroka perhaps slotting in as the No. 3 starter and young lefties DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker rounding things out. Cade Cavalli will be given an opportunity to prove he’s healthy at last and eventually crack the big league rotation, though some time at Triple-A Rochester feels likely to occur first. Depth options beyond that include Brad Lord, Tyler Stuart, Jackson Rutledge and Joan Adon.

The bigger question at this point is whether Mike Rizzo intends to try to sign another veteran starter, one who is more of a sure thing than Soroka, one who would cost quite a bit more.

We don’t know the club’s plans, but here’s some food for thought: The Nationals had two veteran starters in their rotation this season, both of whom became free agents. They’ve now replaced Williams with Soroka. But they haven’t yet replaced Patrick Corbin.

Corbin’s production may not be something the Nats want to replace. They’d be better off trying out one of the young guys. But they should have the ability replace Corbin’s $35 million salary ($10 million of which is deferred to 2025).

Not to suggest the Nationals are guaranteed to sign a $35-million-a-year pitcher, or even a $25-million-a-year guy. But if they merely pay someone half as much as they paid Corbin this season, they would have themselves a veteran starter far more established than anyone else in the current rotation.

That’s the larger-picture question here as Christmas approaches. Until then, the Nats will just have to be satisfied with the $9 million stocking stuffer they acquired Thursday.